Prefabricated building



Jan. 11, 1938. J. H. MAGNUSON PREFABRICATED BUILDING Filed March 4, 1937E Nm z Mm 7 J 5 i 'and facilitate the erecting operation and therethewall at the corner stud when the wall struc- 55 Patented Jan. 11, 1938 NUNITED s'rrss PREFABRICATED BUILDING John Harry Magnuson, Harrisville,R. I., assignor to Austin T. Levy, Harrisville, R. I.

Application March 4, 1937, Serial No. 129,094

8 Claims. (01. 72-1) My invention relates to prefabricated buildings. bymaterially reduce the cost of such a building.

TENT OFFlCE It has heretofore been proposed to construct A furtherobject of my invention is to provide such buildings having a metal wallframe prean improved construction whereby it is made senting panelapertures and having panels dispossible to omit the sheets of anchoringmate- 'posed in these apertures; anchoring or clinching rial from thepanel units, and thereby not only material being carried by the oppositefaces of reduce the expense incident to the production the panels andspaced therefrom by reenforcand erection of the same in the wall, butalso ing and spacing rods, and forming a unit there to eliminate allnecessity for either rolling out with when shipped. This anchoringmaterial the anchoring material at the panel edges, or heretofore hasbeen in the form of small sheets rolling a t sa 0 Sewing lacing 10 ofwire mesh but slightly larger than the panel A further object of myinvention is to produce boards, which overlie the panel boards and havean imp ove Co ct w e W e O protruding edges adapted to overlie theframe; e se a a t s, t is also made possible to these sheets forming apart of each panel unit obtain a definitely improved wall surface overand being adapted to be coated with and clinch e e l frame parts throughthe elimination of cementitious material on the opposite faces of theoverlapping portions of the anchoring mathe wall after the anchoringmaterial carrying terial, all tendency of the cementitious materialpanels have been assembled into the wall frame. to crack along thestuds, due to unevenness of As a result, it has not only been necessaryto the overlapped anchoring material, being elimicut the reenforcingmaterial into these small nated. A still further object of y inventionsheets, but further to assemble and attach these is to pro ce a s r ti nh v n he b ve sheets to the panel board with exactness at the adva tagesand fu t having e additional factory and then maintain the parts of theunits adv ta e of e b the belt to be q y and in this relation. Moreover,difiiculty has been readily pp w h ny n rfer e m experienced due tomalformation of the sheets, t anchoring material, and e enabling the andparticularly the protruding edges thereof, latter to be applied in asimple and quick operduring shipment and erection, while the added ationin a continuous strip O Strips covering, if weight of the anchoringmaterial has increased des ed, the Who e he 0 the Well and shipping costand further increased the difiiculten-ding over a plurality of panelsand their coties in erection. In such constructions, it has Operatingframe structure, or, if desired, clear also been proposed after theerection of the anaround substantial portions of the building. Stillchoring material carrying panels in the frame, urthe Obje ts o yinvention are to Provide to cover the opposite faces of the throughconsuch a construction which, while havin the nected' members of thewall frame with strips vantages set forth, will permit the anchoring offelt or other insulating material to prevent material to be applieddirectly from a roll of condensation on the inner wall surface. As a thesame and with markedly increased facility, result, with the mesh coveredunits in place in while also making it possible to provide apertures theframe, it has been necessary to roll out therein for closures, such asdoors and windows, all of the four protruding edges of the anchorwithmarked facility and a minimum of expense. ing material on each panelunit, in order to ex- These and other objects and advantages of my 40pose the portions of the metal frame to be covimproved constructionwill, however, hereinafter ered with felt, and this has involvedconsiderable more fully appear.

difl'iculty. Further, after the felt has been ap- In the accompanyingdrawing, I have shown plied, it has been necessary to roll back thesefor purposes of illustration one embodiment rolled out edges. Thus,considerable dificulty which my invention may assume in practice. andexpense has been encountered, these opera- In the drawing,

tions requiring considerable time, and particular Figure 1 is aperspective view of an inside wall difficulty being experienced wherethe edge porof a building of my improved construction, the tions overlieone another between adjacent pansame being shown in process of erectionand els, lacing or sewing together of the overlapping certain portionsof the frame and panels being edge portions being desirable to hold themin covered with felt and anchoring material, while the desired reationother portions of the same remain uncovered;

My invention has among its objects to elimi- Figure 2 is a sectionalview on line 2--2 of mate the above difficulties and markedly expediteFigure 1, showing a transverse section through ture is ready for theinner and outer cementitious coatings;

Figure 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 1, the cementitiouscoatings however also being shown;

Figure 4 is a sectional View on line 4-4 of Figure 1, the wall here alsobeing coated, and

Figure 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Figure 1, likewise aftercoating.

Inthis illustrative construction, it will be noted that a suitablefoundation I carries usual bottom or sill channels 2 having oppositelydisposed intermediate studs 3 of channel form therein and cooperatingwith corner studs 4, likewise of channel form, while upper plate formingchannels 5 receive the upper ends of the studs and cooperate therewithto present channel apertures in which insulating panels 6, carryingvertical reenforcing and spacing rods 7 on their opposite faces, aredisposed, with the edges of the panel board 6 received within theseveral channels 2, 3, 5, and 5.

In my improved construction, the panel units as built and shipped,comprise only the insulating board 6 and the rods 1 thereon andconnected thereto by. suitable connecting means, as, for example, wires8 spaced along the rods and extenchng through apertures in the panelboard. Thus, it will be evident that, not only is all necessityeliminated. for cutting the anchoring material into sheet form and quiteprecisely fit ting it onto the panel board so that its edges protrudethe proper distance beyond the edges of the latter, but that allnecessity for shipping or erecting the unit in this heavier form iseliminated, as well as the diificulties due to bending of the anchoringmaterial during shipment or erection.

- With the panel unit in this improved form, the frame and panels areassembled substantially as heretofore, in the relation shown inFigure 1. However, during this process of assembly, a plurality ofadditional rods 9 is inserted adjacent each corner panel 4. Asillustrated in Figure 2, one of these rods is disposed in the outsidewall parallel to and closely adjacent the outer flange of one of thechannel members comprising this corner stud, and another rod 9! issimilarly disposed relative to the other outer flange of the channel,while corresponding rods 9 are similarly disposed relative to the innerflanges of both channels. Note here that these rods 9 are in addition tothe rods 1 nearest the vertical edges of the adjacent panels and carriedon a standard panel 6, and that preferably the rods 9 are not fixed tothe panel unit before these rods are inserted, instead being simplymoved into the position shown in Figure 2 close against their channelmembers and with their opposite ends received in the channels 2 and 5,before the top channel is lowered into place. However, if desired, theserods 9 may also be attached to the panel units before shipment, and theyare preferably attached to the same after erection by tying wires 9similar to the wires 8 used to fix the rods 7 to the panel boards. Afterthe wall frame and panels have been thus erected, then the felt stripsH? are disposed over the desired surfaces of the metal frame, the sameherein being laid over the studs and channels in a usual manner and alsoover the additional rods 9 as shown in Figure 2, this operation beingmarkedly facilitated and expedited by the absence of the anchoringmaterial previously forming a part of the panel unit.

When the entire felt stripping has been applied as desired, I next applythe anchoring material, herein in the form of one or more continuousstrips of suitable wire mesh ll, spaced by the rods '1 and 9 andcovering a plurality of panels and their associated frame structure witha single thickness of wire. Here note that, if desired,

this mesh may be of such height as to enable the entire wall surfacebetween the foundation and plate, to be covered in one operation andwhile unrolling a single roll of the wire along the wall. However, itwill be noted that herein I have shown two strips of such wire mesh i!used to form the anchoring material. In practice, the roll or rolls,disposed vertically against the wall, are unrolled along the latter, thewire fabric being suitably attached to the wall as the wire is unrolledagainst the wall. Preferably, however, I temporarily nail the wire meshto the insulating board e at as many points, indicated at 2, as may benecessary, and thereby make it possible for the entire wall to becovered very quickly, later having holding wires l3, corresponding tothe usual holding wires 3 and 9 and those heretofore used on the unitarypanels, inserted after the entire wall has been thus covered with wireon both surfaces thereof, to bind the wire mesh to the rods '1 and theboards 6. To facilitate this operation, I also prefer"- ably connect therods by only a few holding wires 8 and leave a plurality of additionalapertures M in the board so that after the wire mesh coverings have beenapplied, wires'may be inserted through these apertures to connect all ofthe parts together in the same manner used in previous anchoringmaterial carrying units.

As a result of my improvement, it will be noted that not only is themanufacturing cost of the units, as shipped and erected, materiallyreduced, but that the operation of erecting them into the metal frame ismaterially expedited and facilitated due to the elimination of the mesh.Further, it will be observed that the operation of applying the felt ismarkedly facilitated and expedited, while it is also made possible veryquickly and easily to cover the entire wall surface with a continuousstrip or strips of wire mesh. Note further that this results in animproved and more unitary and stronger wall, and one whereby, due to theimproved disposition of the anchoring material uniformly in a singlesmooth layer, it is made possible to provide improved coatings ofcementitious material having better lasting qualities. Attention here isparticularly directed to the elimination of inequalities in thethickness of the wire mesh and resultant inequalities in quality andthickness of the cementitions coatings, it being found that diiiicultieswith cracking of the latter heretofore experienced along the studs ismarkedly reduced by my improved construction. By applying the anchoringmaterial in sheet form, it will also be evident that the necessaryapertures for closures, in certain panels, such, for example, as thewindow aperture l5, may also be readily provided by simply cutting outthe wire mesh, as shown at E5, to form the desired aperture after thewire mesh has been applied. Stopping the mesh at one edge of theaperture, and starting to unroll a new strip at the far edge thereof, aswell as the use of narrower rolls where necessary, also enables theaperture to be formed in the mesh while minimizing cutting in connectionwith the apertures. Attention is further directed to the fact that myimproved construction also makes it possible to obtain better inside andoutside corners than have heretofore been obtainable due to the overlapsheretofore provided. It will also be noted that my improved rodconstruction at the corners strengthens the latter, while alsopermitting the felt and single layer of wire, to be satisfactorilydisposed in the corner, and also eliminating any need for either sewingor the use of a reenforcing rod at the apex of the corner in order topermit the overlapping portions to be wrapped about this rod. These andother advantages of my improved construction will, however, be clearlyapparent to those skilled in the art.

While I have in this application specifically described one embodimentwhich my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood thatthis form is shown for purposes of illustration, and that the same maybe modified and embodied in other forms without departing from itsspirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In aprefabricated building, a wall structure comprising a frame presentingpanel apertures, panel means in said apertures carrying anchoringmaterial spacing means, and continuous sheet means of anchoring materialoverlying a plurality of panel means and said frame and spaced by saidspacing means.

2. In a prefabricated building, a wall structure comprising a framepresenting panel apertures, panel means in said apertures carryinganchoring material spacing means, condensation preventing means carriedon said wall and overlying and conforming to portions of said frame, andcontinuous sheet means of anchoring material overlying a plurality ofpanel means and said condensation preventing means and frame and spacedby said spacing means.

3. In a prefabricated building, a wall structure comprising a framehaving vertical studs and transverse members cooperating to presentpanel apertures, panel means in said apertures carrying anchoringmaterial spacing means, and continuous sheet means of anchoring materialcarried on said wall and overlying said panel means in a plurality ofapertures and spaced by said spacing means and disposed in a singlethickness over substantially the entire area of said studs.

4. In a prefabricated building, a wall structure comprising a framehaving vertical studs and transverse members cooperating to presentpanel apertures, panel means in said apertures carrying anchoringmaterial spacing means, continuous sheet means of anchoring materialcarried on said wall and overlying said panel means in a plurality ofapertures and spaced by said spacing means and disposed in a singlethickness over substantially the entire area of any intermediate stud,and condensation preventing means overlying said studs and disposedbetween the latter and said sheet means.

5. In a prefabricated building, a wall structure comprising a framehaving vertical studs and transverse members cooperating to presentpanel apertures, panel means in said apertures carrying anchoringmaterial spacing means, condensation preventing strips carried on saidframe and overlying said studs and transverse members, and continuoussheet means of anchoring material carried on said wall and overlyingsaid panel means in a plurality of apertures and said condensationpreventing strips and spaced by said spacing means and disposed in asingle thickness over substantially the entire area of said studs.

6. In a prefabricated building, a wall structure comprising a framehaving vertical studs and transverse members cooperating to presentpanel apertures, panel means in said apertures carrying anchoringmaterial spacing means, and continuous sheet means of anchoring materialcarried on inner and outer faces of said wall and overlying said panelmeans in a plurality of apertures and spaced by said spacing means anddisposed in a single thickness over substantially the entire area of anyintermediate stud, one of said studs comprising a corner stud and havingsaid single thickness of said anchoring material overlying each innerand outer face of said stud.

'7. In a prefabricated building, a wall structure comprising a framepresenting panel apertures including studs and transverse memberscooperating therewith, panel means in said apertures carrying spacedanchoring material spacing rods including rods adjacent the oppositeside of each of said studs, one of said studs being a corner stud andhaving supplemental rods at opposite sides of the outside and inside ofsaid corner stud and between the latter and said adjacent rods, andcontinuous sheet means of anchoring material covering said panels andframe and having single thicknesses of anchoring material overlying saidstuds.

8. In a prefabricated building, a wall structure comprising a framepresenting panel apertures, panel means in said apertures carryinganchoring material spacing means, continuous sheet means of anchoringmaterial overlying a plurality of panel means and said frame and spacedby said spacing means, one of said panel means having a closurereceiving means therein presenting an aperture, and said continuoussheet means having an aperture formed therein conforming to said lastmentioned aperture.

J. HARRY MAGNUSON.

